Thursday, January 13, 2011

Oprah has her annual favorite things day, so I can have one too! Only difference is unfortunately, none of you will be receiving the items for free, sorry. I was thinking earlier today how there are a few things I've felt that either are essential, can't live without or just plain fun! I'll include a few of those items below. People and pets aren't included, as the list only includes 'things', otherwise the wifey, our pets, friends and family would of course make the list also!

Pontiac G8 GT - Sometimes when you purchase a new, or new to you, vehicle the newness/fun wears off after a short period of time. That is not the case for me. I purchased my 09 Pontiac G8 GT in Jan of 2008 and still absolutely love it! It is so fun to stomp on the gas and hear that 6.0 Liter V8 engine roar and feel the car take off. My friends always had the rear wheel drive 8 cylinder muscle cars growing up, so now it's my turn to have some fun. I take on a whole new persona while driving, kinda like how Batman probably feels driving the Batmobile. :P

WDTV Live Plus- I like this so much that I now have 2 of them! One for our living room and one for the TV in our workout room. With the proliferation of downloadable movies, TV shows, and videos I was finding that playing them via USB key on my old DVD player wasn't working as well as it used to. The latest HD files are generally around 4GB in size and some can go all the way up to 10GB+ and the formats recently changed from mostly AVI files to MKV format. Well, fret no more. The WDTV Live or Live Plus players can play just about anything you throw at it and is very easy to update the firmware. You just plug it up to your TV via HDMI cable, plug in your USB hard drive loaded with videos to the player and you're in business! The player also has an ethernet connection so you can hook it to your network and stream video from a PC to the device if you so choose or vice versa.

Eureka Boss HEPA Vacuum / Hoover Carpet Steamer / Eureka Enviro Floor Steamer - These 3 items are a trifecta of essential items for us as a multiple cat household. The Eureka vac we got because it was one of the top rated vacs on consumer reports and was cheap! I have to say, this thing really sucks! But that's a good thing...it has been phenomenal, definitely the best bang for the buck and it really picks up cat hair quite well. The Hoover carpet steamer is also essential, we generally steam clean the carpets about every 3-4 weeks and it works very well. It doesn't take too much longer than regular vacuuming and also does a great job. Also surprisingly inexpensive, a much better alternative than renting one from a local store. The Eureka floor steamer we use on the tile floors does a good job without the need for any cleaning products. If you've considered a Shark, don't...this one blows it away. We occasionally use a Swiffer Wet Jet also, but those 3 prior items are the main arsenal in our constant war against kitty cooties.

Garage Fridge - This was something I didn't even want or need, but it really has been great! Our neighbor across the street got a slightly newer one from a friend and offered us his old one. At first I was thinking we don't have room for that or a need for that, but on second thought I said ok why not. We put all the frozen items out there like frozen pizza, things that we make a lot of to freeze for a later time and of course beer, soda, etc. go in the fridge side. It has been such a big help and something we really enjoy having, can't beat that it was free!

Craftsman Tool Chest - This was something I'd always wanted and planned to get someday, but that day finally came on my birthday last year. It has been such a HUGE help organization wise. Prior to getting this I had tools in a few small tool boxes, tools on shelves and all over the place and could never find what I wanted when I needed it. It was so frustruating to both myself and the wifey that I could no longer continue on without doing something about it. It has exceeded my expectations and I always know exactly where things are when I need them. Should have gotten one sooner.

Sennheiser Wireless Headphones - Wireless headphones are great for when you want to watch TV and someone else is either sleeping or studying or doesn't want to hear what you are listening to. They're also great if you want to listen to something on TV, but you're in another room. Sometimes when I work from home I'll just put the DVR on, put it on CNBC and put my headphones on. The TV doesn't need to be on, just the DVR and the volume control is right on the headphones and reception comes in perfect anywhere in the house. I have both the RS110 which is non-rechargable, but the batteries have so far lasted over a year, and the rechargeable RS120. They both have the same excellent sound quality. I also use them when I'm on the treadmill, but if you're jogging or running you will sweat too much with them on. They're fine for walking at a decent pace. They hook up to anything with a regular headphone connection, the larger size headphone connector or anything with RCA jacks, connectors are included.

Maverick Helicopter Tour - Our helicopter tour of the South/North Rim of the Grand Canyon was just plain awesome and would highly recommend it if you ever get the chance!

Logitech Harmony 700 Rechargeable Remote - I had done a bunch of searching for Harmony remotes a few months back and then kinda just dropped it for a while. The wifey ended up surprising me pretty well this Christmas, I had no idea what she was getting for any of the items she got me and normally I guess just about everything. One of the items was this remote and she didn't even consult me at all and picked a great one! It controls all our devices, was very easy to install the software and configure it and the customized features rock. Great job Marla!

Droid X - Love it, still addicted, can't get enough of it...DROID

What are some items that you either love, are essential to your everyday lives or just cannot live without? Inquiring minds want to know.

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Sorry, I'm not at 'Baby Step 7 - Build Wealth and Give' yet...I'm not done setting up the Roth IRAs and getting the 401k %'s all set. But I think you are there already, so why don't you get started on that for me! :-)

I didn't know you had an outside fridge? Great favorite things. Mine would be Kitchenaid Mixer, Roomba, Crockpot (programmable), my water bottle nalgene and I also LOVE my vehicle. Oh, and I love all my stainless steel kitchen appliances.